Electric socket



March 1, 1938. A. w. FRANKLIN 2,109,770

' ELECTRIC SOCKET v Filed June 25, 1936 l zo INVENTOR.

. ATTORNEYS Alberi w.Fr`ar1Kl/17 l is an example.V

This invention resides UNITED STATE -i mermcsocxar. Alben w. mourn, New York, Vn. Y; Application :one z5, 193s, sorua No. 91,1971

comms.- (o1. 11s-scsi' n This invention relates toimprovements in sockets for receiving electrical devices of various .r forms of which the vacuum tube, such as em' ployed in radio receivers and similar apparatus,

An object of improved form of contact prongs without destroying the original 10 relationship of the thereof. A further object of the invention is to provide contact clips of this type which will insure a rm gripping of the contact prongs, insuring 'good l5 electrical contact and a hrm support for the de'- vice mounted therein.

parts and the resiliency These and many other objects, will appear,

from the following disclosure, are secured -by means of this invention.

Y substantially in the combination, construction, arrangement, 'and relative location of parts, all in accordance with the `A lin and

supporting plate i and a lower supporting plate 2 disposed in superposed relation and secured thereto in any suitable manner, such as by means of the riveted eyelets 3. These plates may be 40 made of any suitable insulating material adaptedv to the purpose and are provided with the aligned holes l by means of which the complete struc ture may be mounted on any suitable support'.`

Both plates are provided with a substantially circular opening Sprovlded with a more or less semi-circular notch 6 on one side to adapt -the socket for use with the so-called metal audions or vacuum tubes in common use today. The socalled metal tubes are provided with a base having 'a cylindrical central prong which has a longitudinal substantially semi-circular-rldge along one side thereof. The central prong snugly tits the opening 5 in the socket and the ridge thereon ilts in the notch 6, insuring the mounting of the tube in the socket in the proper position.

Vcentral llortlonlli uns invention is topprovide prongreceiving contact caf@ pable of repeated'insertionsand withdrawals of 'and the portions The contact clips areof metaligin accordance with -thefusual Y tice. and nat H- extendin'gfron'i `the in forni of .rounded shape at the. anglesl 1 'I'lie back wall at the endB is eurvedgnsfmdicated at ll.

asis clear from Fig.4,;only part oi the' wayfrom theendB vtovirai'ds end A. The. A morecr less flat sides; from -the'iorvjrnation-of.theterminal 'end' {L -approach each ther totorm a. slot, as is from cular, asV isrclear from Fig. 'lgiatrldV is slightlylarger inarea' than the end B. 0n the end A the sides'areprovided with a pair of short ears l2 adjacent the longitudinal slot. Y I 25 The supporting plate l is provided with-a series of substantially oval openings. each of which is radially aligned with openings 2l of a suitable size and shape to receive vthe"iishtail".

The

l:passing the terminal ends Sand Il of the clips through the holes v20 and 8, respectively. The

other supporting plate 2. is then placed over plate l soas to engage vthe portions l. ofthe contact clips and eyelets3l arethen installed, binding 35 the parts together andnrmly supporting the terminal clips thereon and'th Asis clear from Fig. v3 the tabsllliebetween'the 'plates l andi.

The advantages of this wm Vnow 4o -be set f crth. By reasonof the form of the clips and the manner of mounting them on the supporting plates the prong receiving portions Il 4areilrmly braced and supported by the tabsA l2 l li. The tabs l2 may slide be- 45 tween plates l and 2 as the prong receiving portions il expand and contract a; prong is inserted and withdrawn. The plates I and 2 are not bound together .by the eyelets 3 stronglyV enough to prevent this movement. These tabs 50 I2 strengthen thecontacts and'permitguided movement of the v'free edges along the slots.

The endsll ofgtheportions Il areadiacent the'apertures 1 inthe-plate 2, which is on 'thetop of the' sockeeanirrom which side the tube is as section which is A'slightly Dnvergins from end vl0'V y v wiiifonis siignuy'divorgentgromnooooozo Bjtofthoond A. Tho-onanisfmofenariycir-q normally encountered in Aa cause for the rapid deterioration of the ordiprongs engage the prong receiving portions II of the clips at the larger end, which is more nearly rounded, so that the rounded ends of the terminal prongs may easily enter and start the spreading of the portie s Il. As; the prongs move down into the portions Il a three line contact between the portions i l and the prongs along the highest point oi.' the portions II and along the portions C slightly in back of the edges of the metal at the slot.

'I'he particular advantage of a construction of this type is that the prong receiving portions are not permanently distorted when used with' commercial tubes, the prongs of which in practice vary somewhat in diameter from .the standard size. The standard diameter ofthe prongs of the modern vacuum tube is of the order of 0.091 to 0.093 inch, but commercial tolerance permits of the use of tubes having terminal prongs which vary from 0.090 to 0.098 inch. 'I'his relatively wide variation in diameter of the prongs which is the commercial art, is

nary contact clips which when expanded by the oversize prongs do not make good contact when later used with tubes having standard or undersize prongs. The device here disclosed will Withstand many insertions and withdrawals of prongs of tubes normally encountered in commercial use. They Will grip these prongs rmly, making good electrical contact, even when used with undersize prongs after being used with oversize prongs. Because oi the inward curve at Il* the sides C are drawn rmly back against the opposite side of the prongs to insure a rm three line contact. This particular shape of prong also innearly round,

2,109,770- inserted. .Thus the rounded ends o! the terminal sures greater resiliency in the prong receiving portion, insuring a flrm grip on the prongs. The life of the prong is also increased by reason of the presence of the tabs I2. The tabs I2 also supplement the support given by the portion I l of the clips to maintain the prong receiving portions in a substantially right angle position with respect to the supporing plates. Finally, by reason of the fact that the end A is larger and more it is expanded but very little upon the insertion of the prongs which prevents the metal of the prong receiving portion from taking a permanent set when a prong, and especially an oversize prong, is inserted therein.

From the above description it will lbe apparent to those skilled in the art that this invention resides in certain features of construction which can be employed in other physical forms without departure from the true scope of the invention. I do not, therefore. desire to be limited to the disclosure, as given for purposes of the disclosure, but rather to the scope of the appended claims.

What I seek to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. A contact clip as described, comprising a piece of metal terminating in a contact portion of hollow section, made up of a back wall and a pair of approaching side walls terminating at a angular.

ALBERT W. FRANKLIN. 

